


A Fresh Start

by NuclearTonic



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Boys' Love, Friendship, M/M, Relationship(s), Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-04-03 05:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4088242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NuclearTonic/pseuds/NuclearTonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakurai Ryou is hoping for a fresh start at Touou Academy when he meets Aomine Daiki. At first, Aomine seems like just another bully but their relationship progresses to friendship and perhaps something more? If only Sakurai could overcome his fear and self-doubt...<br/>Slow development of relationship, rating will increase over time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Sakurai started at Touou Academy, he was hoping for a fresh start. At his previous school, he had been the target of bullying and coercion by both students and teachers. Frequently, he had his things stolen or damaged. He recalled a time when he returned from lunch to find all the pencils left on his desk had been broken, even the mechanical pencils. Every piece of pencil lead was split into pieces too tiny to use. When he asked to borrow a pencil from his classmates, they all refused with a smirk. His teacher accused him of coming to school unprepared and made him stand out in the hall.

His classmates constantly forced their cleaning duties on him, so he often came to basketball practice late. As a result, his teammates thought poorly of him and the captain had him do extra exercises to punish him for tardiness. That, coupled with his frequently stolen lunches, made Sakurai very thin. His parents worried about him, but he always brushed off their questioning. He apologized profusely, insisting that it was nothing, or that his studies were causing him stress.

Naturally, his parents thought he should quit basketball in order to focus on his schoolwork.

“I’m sorry,” he sputtered, “I’ll work harder to keep up!”

Sakurai loved basketball too much to quit. Even if he was bullied by his teammates, even if he was half-starved at the start of practice, even if his extra workouts made him too tired to perform well enough to qualify for anything other than third-string—Sakurai’s love for basketball kept him going.

Sakurai chose Touou mostly because of its reputation in the academic arena. When he started looking into it more, he found out that they were making an effort to recruit strong players. Sakurai made more time on weekends to practice his three-pointers, going to local parks. He slacked on his studies in order to qualify for the team.

Try-outs were difficult. There were a lot of strong players, but his punishment exercises proved to be an edge. His endurance and sure-shooting made him stand out. He listened to conversations around him, picking up rumors that one of the Generation of Miracles was going to be on the team.

Sakurai was terrified.

His terror mounted as the entrance ceremony for Touou drew closer. Sakurai studied issues of _Basketball Monthly_ in order to memorize their names and faces. Each one seemed more terrifying than the last. Especially Aomine Daiki. His dark, narrow eyes pierced into his heart, planting the seeds of fear. Sakurai began having nightmares about him. Each morning before the entrance ceremony, he woke up in a cold sweat.

The day arrived. Sakurai woke up from yet another nightmare, shaking and in need of a shower. He got cleaned up and dressed in his uniform, willing his fingers to stop twitching as he knotted his tie. He triple-checked his school supplies, shoes, workout clothes, and bento. Today, his bento held a well-balanced meal in the shape of a cat, with onigiri for ears. He patted his pockets, confirming their contents: a coin-purse, his cell-phone, school ID, and handkerchief. He checked his watch and then made his way to school.

Sakurai lived just far enough to take the train to school. As he found a place to cram himself in, he took a look around for Touou uniforms. He didn’t see any of his schoolmates yet, but anticipated their eventual arrival as the train came closer to the school.

Reaching the next stop, the train doors opened, passengers came and went. One bumped into him and he immediately apologized. He looked up and his gaze met a pair of sharp blue eyes. Sakurai glanced down quickly. His knees shook.

“S’alright,” the teenager said.

_It’s him_. Sakurai thought in a panic. He stole a sidelong look where the teen stood and confirmed his suspicions. It was Aomine Daiki. His height was incredible to behold in person. Aomine’s dark tan stood out amongst the pale passengers, along with his deep blue hair and eyes. Then it dawned on Sakurai that the uniform Aomine was wearing was identical to his—though Aomine’s tie was hanging untied about his neck.

Sakurai could feel his heart rate increase, his throat closing as he fought a panic attack. _It’s ok, Ryou_ , he assured himself, _you’ll only ever see him at practice_. The brunette suppressed the urge to whimper about it, reminding himself that this would be a fresh start. When his heart finally slowed and his breathing came easier, he still felt unsteady on his feet. He kept glancing at Aomine, as if to make sure the teen wouldn’t grab him by the throat and throttle him (as Aomine had often done in his nightmares).

He watched Aomine step off the train first at their stop, and resolved to keep his distance. As Sakurai followed well behind him, he began to grow annoyed with Aomine’s relaxed pace. Sakurai eyed his watch.

_If he doesn’t hurry, we’ll both be late to the entrance ceremony._

Sakurai pouted. He shook his head, then clenched his fists in resolve. He would not allow himself to be late because of _this guy_ , even if he was the scariest person he’d ever seen. Sakurai increased his pace, walking almost suspiciously quick—he might as well have run away. Though as he passed Aomine, the tall boy hardly spared a glance.

Sakurai let out a deep breath of relief when he was safely out of range. He resolved to take an earlier train to school tomorrow.

  


As the entrance ceremony progressed, Sakurai was thankful that the alphabet allowed him a safe distance from Aomine. He almost felt comfortable. Sitting in a sea of new faces, a new start ahead of him. He would not allow Aomine to put a damper on his high school experience.

Then he looked at the class list.

_Aomine Daiki._

And a bit further down the list.

_Sakurai Ryou._

_Ohgodohgodohgodohgod…_


	2. Chapter 2

Sakurai once again praised the alphabet gods for keeping him apart from Aomine. He wound up sitting on the opposite side of the classroom, with the tan teen in his sights. From here, Sakurai watched him fall asleep. Content that Aomine would not leap from his seat and attack him, Sakurai allowed himself to fall into the rhythm of the school day and as early as second period, he began to forget Aomine was even there.

Lunchtime arrived.

Sakurai took his cloth-wrapped bento down to the courtyard to enjoy his food. The weather was pleasant enough and he enjoyed watching the cherry blossoms drift from the trees. He sat on a bench and began to unwrap his lunch. He was just biting into a rice ball when he saw Aomine sit nearby.

He was with a pink-haired girl, who treated him sweetly and even offered her lunch to him. Sakurai was prepared to be touched by his sensitive side when—

“I’d rather starve!” he growled at her.

“Dai-chan,” she whined, “you’re so mean!”

“I’ll die if I eat that crap,” he said.

“It’s not that bad,” she insisted.

Sakurai smiled as he listened to their banter.

Then Aomine’s eyes met Sakurai’s. Sakurai felt like an icicle had been thrown through his heart.

“Oi,” Aomine said, standing up.

_Oh god, he’s looking right at me_ , Sakurai thought in a panic. His heart thumped loudly against his ribs.

“Have anything good?” Aomine stood in front of him, leaning down to look at his bento. Aomine’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting such a cute-looking lunch. Sakurai had taken one of the cat’s onigiri ears to eat, but the carefully cut out nori made the cat’s face clear. All of the meat and veggies surrounding the centerpiece were carefully placed, with an assortment of colors that made Aomine’s mouth water.

“Dai-chan!” the pink-haired girl scolded him. “You can’t just take people’s food!”

“Sorry,” Sakurai said, startled by all the attention. “It’s fine. I’m sorry!”

Aomine grinned. “See, it’s fine!” he told the girl.

Aomine sat down uncomfortably close to Sakurai and grabbed the other rice ball. He felt the heat of Aomine’s muscular thigh pressing firmly against his right leg as Aomine leaned over to remove more food from his bento. Sitting next to him made it obvious just how much larger and more powerful Aomine was compared to Sakurai. Sakurai felt ashamed of his own weakness. His heart continued hammering, his ears burned with embarrassment, and his legs felt wobbly.   
The girl shook her head at them and introduced herself.

“I’m Momoi Satsuki,” she said. “This is Aomine Daiki. Sorry for his rudeness.”

“I-I know. _Sorry_. I mean—he’s in my class. I’m _sorry_ —I mean I’m _Sakurai_ …Ryou. It’s nice to meet you.”

Momoi giggled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Sakurai-kun.”

“Hey, Ryou,” Aomine said suddenly.

_My first name?!_ Sakurai blushed at his familiarity.

“Let me borrow your notes. I fell asleep earlier.”

“Sorry,” Sakurai said. _I should say no_ , he thought, _he just stole my lunch and sleeping in class is bad. I can’t let him take advantage of me like this…I—_ “Sorry, I… left my notes in the classroom. I-is it ok if I give them to you later?”

Aomine nodded, his mouth full of rice. He used Sakurai’s chopsticks to grab a piece of chicken out of his lunch and shoved it into his already full mouth.

Sakurai was disgusted with himself. His whole body burned with shame. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to prevent foot-in-mouth which might lead to physical abuse. It usually happened when Sakurai tried to stand up for himself. He recalled a time when he had refused someone’s clean-up duty at his old school, only to get jumped later on his way home. Recalling the bruises made him feel queasy.

After Aomine had gorged himself on the apologetic kid’s lunch, he and Momoi went on their way. Sakurai held his head in his hands. He was pale and shaking after their encounter.

_This is much_ much _worse than I thought_ , Sakurai worried to himself. At least there would be no basketball practice today. Too much time spent in Aomine’s company would give him a panic attack.

 

Aomine did not show up to the next period after lunch. Sakurai thought this would be a good thing, but he caught himself staring at the door.

_Aomine could burst in at any moment and—wait, what are you thinking? He needs your notes!_ Sakurai smiled to himself, comforted by the thought that his usefulness would keep him alive.

Nonetheless, loud noises made him jump.

Aomine showed up for the next period and stayed in his seat for the rest of the day. During breaks, the other students would chat and mill about, but Aomine seemed to have no interest in such activities. Sakurai also stayed put, not wanting to take his eyes off the blue-haired teen. He assured himself that his observations were strictly for safety reasons.

The school-day came to a close. Sakurai began packing his things, checking that he hadn’t left anything in his desk. Aomine appeared in front of his desk as he was finishing up. Sakurai jumped, but then remembered his earlier promise.

“Sorry,” Sakurai said “the notes… Here, sorry if they’re no good.” He forced a smile and handed them over.

Aomine shoved the notes into his bag.

“Thanks,” he said at length. “Didn’t I bump into you on the train this morning?”

Sakurai shuddered as he remembered the terrifying experience. “S-sorry about that,” he apologized, “Sometimes I-I just—“

“What are you apologizing for? _I_ bumped into _you_.” Aomine made a sound of annoyance. “I hate weak guys,” he mumbled.

Sakurai felt his heart drop into his stomach. A knot formed at his throat and he looked down at his desk. He _knew_ he was weak, he just didn’t know what to do about it. As much as he could apologize for who he was, he wished he never had to apologize to begin with.

“I’m sorry,” Sakurai said softly around the lump in his throat.

Aomine cursed and sighed. “C’mon, let’s go.”

He grabbed Sakurai’s arm suddenly, tugging him out from behind his desk. Surprised, he allowed himself to be pulled to the door and then shoved out of the classroom.

“Can’t you walk?” Aomine growled at him.

“Sorry!”

They walked to the train station together. Aomine, despite his purported hatred of the weak, felt inclined to watch out for Sakurai. He seemed like the kind of guy who would allow himself to be mugged on the way home and then apologize to the mugger.

“So what do you do?” Aomine said, trying to put his wilting companion at ease.

“L-like for fun?” Sakurai spared a glance at Aomine’s face. His gaze was returned, unwavering, making Sakurai blush.

“Well?”

“Sorry,” Sakurai said, “I play basketball. I-I’ll be on the team with you…”

“Oh?” Aomine grinned like a cat baring his teeth at a mouse. “You any good?”

“I-uh… maybe?” Sakurai ventured. At Aomine’s frown he tried for a less modest approach. “Sorry, y-yes. I tried out for the team and was accepted as a st-starter.”

_More like stutterer_ , thought Aomine. “Wait, did you say you’re going to be a starter?” he said, eyes wide with surprise. He grabbed Sakurai by the shoulders, making him stop to look at him. “Seriously? You?”

Sakurai nodded fearfully.

Aomine laughed and let him go. His laughter made Sakurai feel uneasy. While it was out of amusement, Sakurai interpreted it as maniacal.

The tall teen stilled his laughter and gave Sakurai a rough pat on the back that sent him stumbling forward as they walked.

“I can’t wait to see what you can do,” said Aomine. “What’s your play style?”

“I-I’m good at threes,” Sakurai said. He could feel his cheeks heating up. Sakurai didn’t often talk about himself, let alone positive things.

“That’s respectable,” Aomine chuckled. “You know, I never would have thought you were into basketball.”

The two talked about basketball most of the way to the train station. Aomine also talked a little bit about Momoi, giving him the abridged version of their childhood friendship. Before they knew it, they had reached Aomine’s stop.

“See you tomorrow,” Aomine waved.

“Bye,” Sakurai said.

He let out a soft sigh, feeling somewhat relieved at Aomine’s absence. While Aomine hadn’t been mean to him, memories from his violent nightmares kept invading his thoughts. If Aomine smiled, Sakurai remembered the satisfied smirk of a psycho whose fingers were wrapped tight around his throat; if Aomine bumped into him, Sakurai assumed he would go in for the kill. In short, being in Aomine’s presence was stressful.

That night, however, Sakurai slept without nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience. I look forward to working on this piece again.

Sakurai did not follow through on his plan to take an earlier train.

He awoke well-rested, took the time to make an extra portion of bento for Aomine on the chance that he forgot a lunch again.

 _Wait, what am I doing?_ Sakurai asked himself. _I’m not a housewife!_

Sakurai put the extra portion away in the refrigerator and went to get dressed.

 _It’s more that I’m worried he’ll take it, right?_ Sakurai reassured himself. _I mean, Aomine will just bully it out of me like he did yesterday._ He turned over yesterday’s events in his mind. The opportunity to refuse _did_ come up, but he insisted that it was ok. Sakurai had bullied himself out of his own lunch! With that girl present, he probably would have been safe to say no.

Sakurai decided to take the extra bento just in case.

  


Aomine dreamed about cats made of rice.

A large white cat walked towards him. As it grew closer, he saw it was not a regular cat. It was eight feet tall, walking like a person on its hind legs. He was made out of rice, with onigiri ears and a face made out of nori. The cat was dribbling a basketball as it approached, somehow the rice did not stick to the ball.

“Want to play?” the cat asked with a grin.

Aomine suddenly noticed they were in the middle of a basketball court. He was wearing his Touou uniform. A uniform appeared on the cat as well, this one from his old school Teikou.

They played, the cat mimicked his movements. Every basket he made was replicated by the cat. The scoreboard flickered. It was a monstrous scoreboard, running the entire length of the court and stretching toward the ceiling. The numbers seemed to blaze, emitting an overwhelming heat.

The cat began to melt. Aomine laughed. He laughed until he noticed himself melting into the court along with the rice cat.

“The only one who can beat me, is me,” the cat said to him.

  


Aomine woke up late. A message from Momoi woke him up.

 _I told you to meet me out front! Where are you?_ It read.

Aomine missed first period, breakfast, and the train (by about ten seconds). He was already late to second period by the time he boarded the next train, so he decided to skip the rest of it. He was taking a short nap on the roof when he realized he forgot a lunch again. 

_I guess I’m skipping practice today_ , Aomine thought, _I can’t play on an empty stomach._

  


Sakurai was disappointed when he didn’t see Aomine on the train, more so when he didn’t show for first period, and doubly so when he did not arrive in time for second. He guessed that he would be parting with his notes again this afternoon.

Though there was the possibility that Aomine was sick. This thought troubled him. _He’ll miss practice_ , Sakurai thought, _and what will I do with that extra bento?_ His worrying began to give him an upset stomach. _Oh no_ , he thought, _I’m sick! How will I get my notes to Aomine?_

He resolved to head to the nurse after second period.

  


Aomine heard the chime marking the end of second period and made his way to the classroom. He was thinking about cat-shaped food when he bumped into someone. That someone apologized immediately.

“Oi, Ryou,” Aomine said. “Stop apologizing.”

“S-sorry,” Sakurai replied, blushing at his second apology. “Are you on your way to class?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Where you headed?”

Sakurai decided he didn’t need to see the nurse. His worries were gone, and with it went his stomach ache.

“Just walking,” Sakurai said. “I’ll walk with you then. Do you want my notes again?”

“Yeah,” Aomine said.

They walked together to the classroom and Aomine waited by Sakurai’s desk for the notes. He stared at the boy’s head as he collected the notes, his brown hair seemed to shine gold in the right light. Sakurai started writing something on a blank page. Aomine observed the way his hands moved to form perfect characters. He realized Sakurai was talking.

“…the homework for tomorrow isn’t too bad,” Sakurai said.

Aomine realized Sakurai was writing a copy of the homework assignment for his own use.

“Would you mind doing that for me?” he asked.

“Sorry?” Sakurai said, not sure if he was understanding. “Do what?”

“The homework,” Aomine said. “Could you do mine, too?”

Sakurai froze in place, his pencil in the middle of a character. _Oh no, not again,_ he thought frantically, thinking of his old school. 

“To be honest,” Aomine continued, scratching the back of his head, “I haven’t even looked at the notes you gave me yesterday.”

Sakurai’s pencil lead snapped on the page, startling both himself and Aomine. He set the pencil aside. Sakurai wanted nothing more than to deny Aomine’s request, but he struggled to form words. _Any words._ Sakurai couldn’t even bring himself to _apologize._ He couldn’t even raise his head, he just stared at the page, eyes unfocusing, the characters on the page began to blur.

“Listen…” Aomine started

“N-no,” Sakurai surprised himself, looking up at Aomine with wide eyes. “S-sorry, b-but I can’t do that.”

Sakurai was shaking, but he held Aomine’s gaze. Aomine seemed a bit shocked at first, but slowly his confusion melted into laughter. He laughed so hard he clutched his sides, leaning back and letting out a laugh that brought Sakurai’s nightmares to mind. Tears formed at the corners of Aomine’s eyes.

Sakurai was terrified. He did not see the humor in the situation, instead fearing for his safety. It would be just like his old school: Aomine would jump him on the way home from school, beat him to a pulp, and he’d wind up doing his homework anyway.

“So you have some guts after all,” Aomine said between chuckles.

Aomine then moved to his seat, taking out a handkerchief to dab his eyes with, still laughing to himself when the teacher showed up for class.

Sakurai sat down, trembling. Despite Aomine’s good-natured chuckle over the whole affair, Sakurai kept thinking the worst would come.

  


When lunchtime rolled around, Aomine showed up to Sakurai’s desk again.

 _Here we go_ , Sakurai thought with dread.

“Do you have any money?” Aomine asked him. “I forgot a lunch again and I skipped breakfast.”

Sakurai gulped. Now was the moment of truth. He would give Aomine the lunch, and then he would be forgiven for not doing Aomine’s homework.

“A-actually,” Sakurai stuttered.

“Dai-chan!” Momoi rushed into the classroom and enveloped Aomine in a giant hug. She let him go and then pulled something out of her bag, handing it to him. “I made you a lunch today!”

Aomine’s tan face turned green. “No thanks,” he said, mustering what politeness he could.

“Aw,” she pouted, “Come on! I know you’ll skip practice if you don’t eat something. Today’s the first one and I don’t want you to miss it! What if there’s someone better than you?”

Aomine scoffed. “The only one who can beat me, is me.”

“You don’t know that!” Momoi scowled at him. She grabbed his ear and began dragging him out of the classroom.

Aomine howled, shouting something about securing lunch money, but Momoi kept dragging him along by his ear.

Sakurai watched them leave.

 _I just let that happen_ , he frowned at himself. _I can’t just let this bento go to waste._

Sakurai gathered up the two lunches he had packed and stalked after them.

  


“I _really_ don’t want to eat that,” Aomine frowned at the food in front of him. _Is this even food_ , he wondered.

He peered at the open bento in front of him, looking between the two compartments, each with one strange-looking concoction. On the left, a reddish-brown sludge with pieces of charred meat and squishy carrots sloshing around in the mixture. The right-hand compartment contained what looked like day-old rice, fried too long in stale oil, with scorched veggies scattered throughout.

“Momoi,” Aomine’s face turned grave and pale. He turned slowly to face her. “I think you’ve gotten worse at cooking.”

She responded by smacking him upside the head.

“How rude!” she scoffed, digging in to her own equally horrifying bento. “It’s not that bad.”

“Your taste buds must be broken,” Aomine said, replacing the lid on the bento. “I’ll find something else to eat.”

He set the bento on the bench next to Momoi. Ignoring her curses, he walked away, leaving her in the courtyard alone with her disgusting food. Despite Aomine’s horrifying encounter with Momoi’s so-called “food,” his appetite was still going strong. His stomach growled as he searched for a good source of lunch money.

 _If only I could find Ryou_ , he thought.

Once again, he stumbled into the very same guy he always did.

“I-I’m sorry!” Sakurai leapt backward, raising his bento in defense.

“Ryou!” Aomine said with glee in his voice. His eyes gleamed with delight.

Sakurai took another step back, frightened by the mischievous gaze.

Aomine’s sharp eyes honed in on the food in Sakurai’s grasp. Not one, but two beautifully wrapped bento boxes, sure to hold the exquisite food of his memory. That lunch both adorable and delectable that could only be the work of Sakurai Ryou!

Aomine snatched the bento out of Sakurai’s left hand and started dragging him back in the direction of the classroom.

“This is for me right?” Aomine grinned. “Let’s go back to the classroom. I think I pissed off Satsuki.”

  


Sakurai sat down at his desk, Aomine sat backwards in the seat ahead of him, using Sakurai’s table.

Aomine stared at the brunette, who didn’t even seem to be interested in his own lunch. _Maybe I get_ two _lunches_ , Aomine thought gleefully.

“So why _did_ you bring two lunches today?” Aomine asked. Surely Sakurai didn’t really intend to give one of these bento boxes to Aomine.

Sakurai’s face flushed. He grimaced, then pursed his lips, avoiding eye contact with Aomine. The closer Aomine scrutinized the boy, the more he seemed to sweat.

“You sick or somethin’?” Aomine asked.

“I’m sorry,” Sakurai bowed low, so that his forehead bumped his own bento.

Aomine frowned.

“Stop apologizing already!”

“Sorry!”

Aomine huffed and turned his attention to the bento in front of him. The cloth wrapped around it was blue with an ocean wave design; as Aomine unwrapped it, he could tell the material was of a high quality. The bento box within was of a classic design: black lacquer, red lining the inside, and with two stacked compartments. One level contained fresh white rice with a sprinkle of sakura-shaped furikake and a pickled plum for the middle, creating a patriotic-looking design. The second level contained an assortment of thin-sliced vegetables, three rolls of tamagoyaki, and bite-sized chicken katsu.

“Now _this_ is a lunch!” Aomine exclaimed with delight.

He picked up his chopsticks and grabbed the pickled plum to start with. His lips puckered around the tart fruit. He hummed with delight while he continued to devour the bento in front of him.

Sakurai watched him eat with amazement.

“You’re a good cook!” Aomine said around a mouthful of food.

Sakurai’s face heated up. His chest tightened as he received the compliment like a punch.

 _How can someone so scary be so nice_ , Sakurai wondered dreamily, _and to someone like me!_


	4. Chapter 4

When Sakurai heard that one of the Generation of Miracles would be on Touou’s basketball team, he was terrified. When he found out it was Aomine, he was _even more_ terrified. But after meeting Aomine, Sakurai realized he wasn’t so scary.

He was still scary, but not the tormentor of Sakurai’s nightmares—just a normal level of intimidating. Aomine stood at over 190cm! In addition to being exceptionally tall, his muscles and broad shoulders made him even more frightening to Sakurai. Sakurai wasn’t very short, but he was definitely slight of build. Compared to Aomine, Sakurai was a twig waiting to be snapped.

The locker room brought to Sakurai’s attention just how fierce his team would be, even _without_ Aomine on their side. Captain Imayoshi, while not much taller than Sakurai, was also incredibly frightening. He smiled, but perhaps too often. He was polite, but quite stern. Sakurai could tell that Imayoshi was a calculating, strategic sort of captain.

Wakamatsu also had a strong presence. Not only was he tall and built, like Aomine, but he was loud and commanded attention. Despite his flaws, he practiced hard and seemed loyal to the team. He worked oddly well with Imayoshi.

The other members of the team seemed just as intimidating and hard to get along with. Sakurai decided he would try to keep his head down as much as possible.

“Don’t let these guys intimidate you,” a hand clapped Sakurai’s shoulder as he entered the court. “After all, we’re on the same team.”

Sakurai looked up to see one of his senpai—the vice-captain.

“Susa-senpai,” Sakurai was in awe of his calm and comforting aura. “I’m s-sorry… I know we’re on the same team, but—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Susa smiled. “Before you know it, you’ll get comfortable playing with everyone.”

He walked off to stand at Imayoshi’s side. They stood awaiting the first-years, ready to start them on their regular practice routines. Sakurai lined up with the rest, as far off to the side as he could.

“Sakurai-kun!” He glanced up to see Momoi. “I’ll be your manager! I hope you enjoy practice!”

She waved at him before joining Imayoshi and Susa at the front of the room. Her smile faded as she made notes on a clipboard. Sakurai quickly realized she was just as calculating as their captain.

“She may seem like a ditz, but she’s actually really smart.”

“A-Aomine-kun,” Sakurai felt his stomach turn. _I guess I’m still scared of him_ , he thought.

Aomine stood next to Sakurai at the end of the group. Sakurai took in his appearance. He wore a tank top and basketball shorts to practice, similar to Sakurai and the rest of the team.

_Somehow he looks so cool, even in the same clothes as everyone else_ , Sakurai thought, reminded again of his own insecurities.

“Are you looking forward to practice?” Sakurai asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Aomine looked sideways at him, grinning.

  
  


Practice started with basic warm-ups before moving on to a match between two first-year teams. Aomine and Sakurai were on the same side, but it seemed like Aomine was playing on his own. He never passed the ball, instead he made shot after shot on his own.

_I wanted to show him my threes_ , Sakurai pouted.

  
  


Sakurai and Aomine left practice together; today they were accompanied by Momoi.

“Like I said, Satsuki,” Aomine groaned. “I’m the best. No one could possibly beat me.”

“Dai-chan!” she whined. “At least try practicing with the third-years!”

“ _Fine_ ,” he huffed.

Momoi had been trying to talk him out of skipping practice for the last five blocks. The match today had been a severe disappointment for Aomine. Based on their conversation thus far, Sakurai was gaining a glimpse into a long-time problem of his blue-haired companion: he was _too good_ at basketball. Aomine and Momoi both crossed their arms and kept a tense silence.

Sakurai cleared his throat.

“S-sorry b-but,” he started. “Why is it that you don’t want to practice? I-I mean, I know you’re a great player, b-but—”

Aomine scoffed.

“Oh, don’t get him started,” Momoi said. “This is my street, see you later.”

She stomped off down her street, Sakurai and Aomine stopped and watched her walk off. After she had gone far down the street, Aomine grumbled.

“She doesn’t get it,” he started. He began heading toward the train station again.

Sakurai followed, but remained silent, waiting for him to speak on his own. This was clearly a touchy subject for him.

I’ve been playing basketball since I was a kid,” Aomine said. “I always loved it. But by the time I got into middle school, it just got… _too easy_.”

Sakurai frowned. To him it seemed like a good problem to have. He had been playing basketball from an early age as well, but was nowhere near Aomine’s skill level. The way he moved on the court was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was like Aomine was born to play basketball.

“People started giving up,” Aomine continued. “They wouldn’t even _try_ anymore. They just _gave up_.”

He let out a long, shaky sigh.

“I-I can’t imagine what that’s like,” Sakurai offered. He really couldn’t. There was nothing he could say to comfort him. He simply couldn’t imagine falling out of love with basketball.

They were silent again for a while. Sakurai noticed they were walking past the station.

“U-um… the station is—”

“I know where the damn station is,” Aomine growled. “I’m _walkin_ ’ home.”

Sakurai stopped walking.

_I should leave him alone_ , he thought. _He clearly needs some time to think..._

He stared after Aomine, watching him walk on, his mind almost made up.

Then Aomine stopped and turned around. He stared back at Sakurai. There was some emotion in his eyes that Sakurai couldn’t place.

“I-is it ok if I walk with you?” Sakurai's face flushed.

_Asking like_ that, _what is wrong with you, Ryou?_ he scolded himself.

Aomine nodded, silently.

Sakurai couldn’t be sure, but Aomine seemed… _sad_.

He felt his feet moving, running to catch up with Aomine.

And Sakurai walked him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you find any errors so I can fix them.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakurai was silent for the bulk of the walk to Aomine’s house. He couldn’t be certain, but it seemed like his blue-haired companion might be on the verge of tears. Sakurai was frustrated. Not at Aomine, of course, but at himself. He felt useless again. He intended to comfort Aomine somehow, but every time he thought of something to say, it sounded too embarrassing in his head to say out loud.

“Aomine-kun,” Sakurai said at length. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

His stomach turned nervously. Sakurai felt heat creeping up his face, regretting saying anything at all. What exactly could he do for Aomine? It’s not like he could solve his basketball problems and he had already refused to do his homework for him.

Aomine glanced at him and the heat flared on Sakurai’s face.

“Ryou,” Aomine said softly, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry,” Sakurai said. “I know I can’t make you worse at basketball or anything. I-I just don’t want you to be sad. P-please, if there’s anything I can do…”

He trailed off, embarrassment taking over once more. His gaze shifted nervously to the side.

Aomine was silent once again. Sakurai thought for sure he had said the wrong thing like he always seemed to do.

_Way to go, idiot_ , he scolded himself. His lips contorted into a pout. _What kind of friend are you?_

“I don’t know, Ryou,” Aomine said, shaking his head once again. He stopped in front of a house painted a soft yellow. “This is me,” he gestured to the house. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait!” Sakurai shouted frantically. Aomine looked at him with raised eyebrows. “S-sorry, I-I… could we exchange numbers. Just—I mean if you want—so if you think of anything… I want to help you, Aomine-kun.”

Aomine chuckled, heightening Sakurai’s embarrassment.

“Alright, I’ll let you know if I think of anything,” Aomine said. “Hand me your phone.”

They exchanged phone numbers and email addresses.

  


On the way home, Sakurai felt light. His head was empty and he could barely feel the weight of his legs as he lifted them. The cool spring air was calming. He felt like he was finally getting the fresh start that he wanted.

  


Aomine’s head, on the other hand, was swimming with thoughts.

Basketball was always in the forefront of his mind. How could Sakurai possibly do anything to help him enjoy basketball? Or was that even the point?

_I’m such an ass_ , Aomine thought, running a hand down his face. He sat down to remove his shoes, not announcing his arrival since no one would be home this early.

How could Sakurai possibly empathize with his situation? Come to think of it, he hadn’t even really seen him play. _He told me he was good at threes_ , Aomine remembered. _But I didn’t even let him touch the ball at practice_.

Aomine tended not to be a team player, but it was never a problem when he was playing with Teikou. Everyone else on the team, while not _quite_ as good as Aomine, had been able to hold their own against any opponent. After all, any games Aomine chose to skip out on had been won easily without his help.

Sakurai was a mystery though. In fact, he had been chosen as a starter in his first year. _So he must be good_ , Aomine thought.

He went to the kitchen to grab a snack and then went up to his room, turning over today’s events in his mind. He was certainly glad that Sakurai had that extra bento, but was it really meant for him? What if he meant to give it to a girl? _Do guys make bentos for girls they like?_ Aomine wondered.

Aomine sat on the edge of his bed, chewing on his apple, chewing on his thoughts.

_Does Sakurai have a girl he likes?_ he frowned. _Did I indirectly steal some girl’s lunch?_

“Whatever, it’s not like I care,” Aomine said to himself. He tossed the apple core into the trash can across the room with ease.

Aomine stretched and laid back onto his bed, folding his arms beneath his head. He let his mind wander back to his Teikou days. He had enjoyed playing basketball with his teammates, for a short time anyway. He missed that, but in remembering, he also felt the bitter sting of loss. Never the loss of the game, but the loss of his passion, and also… _Kuroko_.

A knock on his door interrupted Aomine’s thoughts and he looked up just as his mom walked in.

“ _Young man_ ,” she started.

Aomine groaned.

“Don’t give me _that_ ,” she scolded him. “I haven’t seen you do the slightest bit of homework since you started at Touou--and _don’t_ tell me they haven’t assigned you any.”

She silenced his protests with a stern look. His mother’s eyes were sharp like his own, though the barest hint of crow’s feet showed at the corners. Her expression softened as she asked “Have you eaten yet?”

“I had an apple,” he replied.

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll put something together. _In the meantime_ I want you working on your homework.”

“Yes, mom,” he sighed.

As much as Aomine was hard on everyone else, he was definitely a push-over for his mom. She was a police detective, and a damn good one. She was incredibly smart and tough as nails. Lately, there was a lack of cases in the violent crimes division, where his mom worked. Lower crime rates were great, but as a consequence she was bored and often came home early where she would hound Aomine about school and his club activities. No question, Aomine looked up to her and even wanted to become a police officer someday, though he didn’t think he was smart enough to be a detective. Nonetheless, it was annoying for her to nag him about his schoolwork.

He pulled his schoolbag over to the low table in the center of his room and sat down on a cushion. As he pulled out notebooks, textbooks, and pencils, he realized he had no idea what the homework was for today.

“Shit,” he cursed. Sakurai had offered to copy the homework assignment today, but he never got that from him. At least he had those notes from yesterday.

He rifled through the notebooks until he found Sakurai’s notebook. There was a page sticking out of the side and Aomine pulled it out. It was the homework assignment. Sakurai had copied it for him after all.

“Well shit,” Aomine chuckled. “I guess I have to do homework after all.”

Aomine set the assignment on the table and opened up Sakurai’s notebook. Thankfully, Sakurai was organized. Not only did he have excellent penmanship, Sakurai had written the date on each page, made sure to note the subject and the unit, as well as any relevant textbook pages.

Aomine was surprised to see Sakurai’s doodles amidst his diligent notes. There were drawings on almost every page, usually something small in the margins, but as Aomine flipped through the notebook he found entire pages taken up. Birds, insects, plants, and even people. Aomine laughed when he saw the chibi version of their homeroom teacher. He got so distracted by the drawings, when his mom came in to tell him dinner was ready, he jumped.

“Get any homework done?” she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

“I was just reviewing some notes,” he said, half truthful. “A classmate lent them to me.”

“Oh,” she smiled. “A friend?”

He hesitated. He hadn’t known Sakurai very long, but it already seemed like they were good friends.

“Yeah,” he said, a soft smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Aomine grinned when he spotted Sakurai on the train. He shoved through the crowd to get to him, grin flipping upside down as he got closer. Sakurai was gradually getting pushed into the side of the train car by the other passengers.

“Ryou,” he said, shoving past the crowd. He made space for Sakurai against the edge of the train, taking a wide stance to allow extra space.

Sakurai let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Aomine-kun,” he said. “I thought I was going to get squished.”

Aomine clicked his tongue. “You need to learn to stand up for yourself.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And stop apologizing,” Aomine barked.

“So--ok,” Sakurai winced as he spoke.

“Thanks for the notes and stuff,” said Aomine.

“O-of course,” Sakurai replied. “And did you find the homework?”

“Yeah, how did you sneak that in there?”

Sakurai’s face flushed. “In the locker room, before we left... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just--”

“What did I just say?” Aomine tutted. “No apologies. I was actually able to get some homework done. Although…”

Sakurai looked up into Aomine’s eyes for the first time since he got on the train. The eye contact seemed to pierce through him. The blatant curiosity in Sakurai’s eyes was cute. Aomine’s face heated up when he admitted that to himself and he realized he was staring.

“Uh,” Aomine continued. “I’m not sure I did a good job.”

Sakurai’s curiosity turned to realization. “I’m sorry, I should have explained things better!”

Aomine glared at him.

“Sorry--I-I mean I’m not sorry.” Sakurai looked as though the lack of a proper apology caused him physical discomfort. “I can take a look at it when we get to school.”

  


It was worse than Aomine anticipated.

“Sorry,” Sakurai began. “Um, I mean… you got two of the answers right.”

Aomine’s eyes widened. “That’s _it_?”

“I could help you with your homework,” Sakurai offered. “I-If you want.”

Aomine watched Sakurai’s eyes look shyly off to the side, missing the intense eye contact from before. He waited until his brown eyes glanced up at Aomine before he smiled. Sakurai blushed and Aomine’s smiled broadened.

“Yeah,” Aomine said. “I think I would like that.”

  


After an uneventful practice, Sakurai called his mom to let her know he would be studying with a classmate. Aomine teased him a little, but admitted he would do the same in his situation. On the way to Aomine’s house they shared stories about their moms. Times when they had worried excessively, or embarrassed them.

When they reached Aomine’s house, Aomine announced his arrival, expecting his mom to be home early again. After waiting a moment, he determined the house empty.

“Guess she’s not back yet,” he said. “Make yourself at home. Here, these should fit you.” He passed a pair of house slippers over to Sakurai and sat down to remove his shoes.

“Thanks.”

The slippers were a little big. Sakurai wondered if they had belonged to Aomine at some point, looking down at his companion’s large feet.

_Where does he find shoes that big_? Sakurai wondered.

“Want anything to drink?” Aomine asked as he walked off into the house.

“No thank you,” Sakurai said politely.

Aomine rolled his eyes. “I _insist_.”

Sakurai followed him into the kitchen.

“I have,” Aomine began, opening the fridge. “Iced tea, water, milk, juice. I could make hot tea too if you want.”

“Iced tea sounds nice,” Sakurai said. “Thank you.”

“Sure.”

Aomine poured them each a glass and they walked upstairs to Aomine’s room.

Sakurai was not prepared for the sight of it. It was an ordinary room, with the exception of the posters: large-breasted models in swimsuits and other revealing apparel. He looked around and saw that there was one on each wall. His eyes opened wider with each one he saw. Sakurai’s face turned bright red.

Aomine laughed at his expression.

“Problem?”

“U-uh…” Sakurai stuttered. “N-no. I-I mean yes? I’m sorry--”

“Stop apologising!” Aomine said gruffly. “Just ignore Mai-chan and we’ll get to studying. You’ll forget all about her big tits in a few minutes.”

_Mai-chan?_ Sakurai vaguely wondered which one was Mai. He didn’t know anything about gravure idols.

  


Aomine and Sakurai set up their study materials on the low table in the center of the room. They sat on adjacent sides so it would be easy for Aomine to follow along.

“Alright, let’s start with today’s homework,” Sakurai opened up a red folder containing some worksheets. “Which subject shall we start on?”

Sakurai looked up at Aomine expectantly.

“Japanese history,” Aomine said without hesitation.

Sakurai frowned. “Isn’t that your best subject?”

“How do you know that?”

Sakurai’s face heated up. “They post the grades in the classroom… I-I just thought I’d see where you’re at since I’m helping you study. Sorry for being nosy…”

Aomine smirked. “Alright you caught me,” he said. “I was gonna show off for you.”

“Wh-what?” Sakurai’s stomach flipped. “That’s--We should work on English instead.”

_Is he messing with me_? Sakurai thought worriedly. _I thought Aomine was going to be nice to me_. Memories from his middle school days bubbled up intrusively and he pushed them down, biting his lip.

He pulled the English worksheet out of the folder.

“Alright,” Aomine huffed. “I guess I’ll have to show off on the court instead.”

He lifted an eyebrow and smirked, hoping to get something more out of Sakurai, but he seemed to ignore him. Aomine frowned as Sakurai flipped through the English textbook.

_Man, he’s sensitive_ , Aomine thought. _Either that or just oblivious. I want him to know I’m not just playing with him, but_ \--

“Ok, so the first section is translating words,” Sakurai tapped the page with his pencil, breaking Aomine’s train of thought.

“So we’ll just look ‘em up.”

Sakurai shook his head.

“You should give it a try on your own first,” Sakurai suggested.

  


Despite Sakurai’s apologetic nature, he was a pretty stern teacher when he got in the zone. They had primarily focused on English, which was one of Aomine’s worst subjects. Of course he knew all the basketball terminology in English, but none of that was on the homework.

They were two hours in before Aomine’s mom came home.

“Oh!” she was surprised to see Sakurai when she popped in to Aomine’s room.

“Sorry, mom,” Aomine said. “This is Sakurai Ryou, that friend I mentioned yesterday.”

“Pleased to meet you, Aomine-san,” Sakurai bowed.

“Are you helping my son with his homework?” she asked. When Sakurai nodded, she responded excitedly. “That is wonderful! Can I get you a snack? Did my son offer you anything to eat?”

“Y-yes he did,” Sakurai lied. “But I’m fine. Thank you. Sorry, I should actually get going.”

Aomine chuckled. Sakurai hadn’t gotten flustered for a while, so it was nice to see his personality hadn’t completely changed.

“I’ll walk you out,” Aomine offered.

The two headed downstairs after Sakurai awkwardly denied Mrs. Aomine’s repeated offers of food.

“Next time stay for dinner!” she shouted as the two teenagers left the house.

“Your mom’s really nice,” Sakurai said, laughing softly.

“Yeah,” Aomine chuckled. “She’s always trying to get me to make friends, so I think she was glad to see you.”

They walked out to the street and Sakurai turned around to say goodbye. It was already dark and the streetlight illuminated Sakurai’s hair in the soft gold light.

“Thanks again,” Aomine breathed.

“A-anytime,” Sakurai said, eyes turning shyly to the ground.

Aomine watched his companion walk away, thinking of missed opportunities and future chances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience! I have a lot of plans for Aomine and Sakurai and it's difficult taking it slow. I can only imagine how you must feel, dear reader.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aomine and Kuroko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little chap to get things rolling again.

Aomine did a lot of thinking on the rooftop of Teikou. He thought about basketball, of course, but he thought a lot about his friends as well. Of course, he often napped on the roof. Mostly though, Aomine enjoyed having a quiet place to think.

Today, Kuroko was on his mind, as he often was. His friend. His shadow. The second thing got him thinking beyond friendship. Wasn't the bond they shared something deeper, more intense than a normal friendship?

Aomine had his eyes closed against the bright sunshine of midday. To the approaching person, he would appear asleep.

A rustling caught his attention.

“Aomine-kun,” Kuroko said gently. “Are you awake?”

Aomine felt his heart lift at the sound of Kuroko’s voice. He opened his eyes and saw Kuroko’s head poking over the ledge to look up at him. _So cute_ , he thought.

That was it. He had it bad for Kuroko and he knew it. Being introspective, he understood a lot about himself and was under no illusions about his sexuality. He liked women too, and was quite vocal about that. However, he wanted to keep his other _interests_ under wraps.

_Kuroko, though_ , he thought, _maybe he feels the same_.

After all, the whole “light and shadow” bit _was_ pretty gay.

  


It would be a while before Aomine confessed.

It was late in the day and Aomine left practice early to sit alone and think. The sky was cloudy and bleak, reflective of his mood. The inner turmoil for him was almost too much to bear. At this time, his love for basketball was waning. He was too good to lose to anyone. Even without Kuroko passing to him, his skill was simply overwhelming.

Aomine could tell his relationship with Kuroko was suffering; their disconnect on and off the court was becoming more obvious by the day. 

Kuroko showed up out of nowhere, as he so often did, beckoning Aomine back to practice.

“What’s the point?” Aomine said, with the barest hint of pride left in his voice. “I can win without even trying.”

“I understand, but—“

“How could you?” Aomine snapped, turning to face him. “What can you do alone?”

Kuroko did his best not to let the hurt show, but Aomine could tell that his comment was not so easily brushed off.

“I try my best to support the team,” Kuroko began. “I put my all into my passes!”

Aomine gave a cold laugh.

“Who are you passing to?” Aomine said. “I don’t need your passes to win.”

The shock was now plain on Kuroko’s face. He was speechless as Aomine continued, wanting to say everything that had been on his mind.

“You haven’t even been passing to me recently.” Aomine’s expression was wide-eyed—sad and shocked and scared altogether. His voice croaked, “I’ve already forgotten how to receive your passes.” 

Aomine could feel his eyes welling with tears. He could feel a knot at his throat. Now, he thought he had lost Kuroko. There was only one way to keep him now. He had to tell him.

“Tetsu,” Aomine said softly.

He looked into Kuroko’s eyes. He wanted to know for sure when he spoke, he didn’t miss any change in Kuroko’s expression. His eyes were still wide and sad, even a bit fearful. Had Aomine caused so much hurt already?

“I love you,” Aomine said. Even as he said it, he knew his words would not reach him. Aomine had already gone past the moment where it could have worked between them. Perhaps, at the peak of their amazing teamwork; even before, when they would practice together in private? There were so many opportunities he missed.

“I’m sorry,” Kuroko said at last. His voice was chilly, almost mechanical. “I can’t return your feelings.”

Aomine looked away. Now the tears would not hold. They streamed down his face. He could smell the rain still trapped in the clouds above him, wished they would rain down on him and hide his tears.

He saw Kuroko move a half step towards him out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated there for a moment before he walked away. Back to Teikou. Or who knows where, Aomine didn’t care anymore.

He sat down on the damp grass and cried for a while. He cried until the rain finally fell loose from the sky.

  


Aomine was sitting on the roof of Touou, ditching practice for the second time that week. He already thought himself superior to his peers, including the upperclassmen. He’d been thinking about Kuroko again. Turning it over in his mind as he so often did, thinking about what he should have done differently.

He could hear Momoi approach, and looked up from his spot on the ground. He could see her underwear from this angle as she stood looming over him.

“Dai-chan!” she scolded. “Why aren’t you at practice?”

Aomine scoffed. “Why do you ask that every time? You know why.”

He sat up and she sat down next to him.

“I know, I know,” she sighed. “At least get to know the team better!”

Aomine huffed. He already knew her _and_ Sakurai. Wasn’t that good enough?

“Actually, it’s been kind of fun,” Momoi grinned. “It seems the captain has taken a liking to Sakurai-kun.”

Aomine froze.

Momoi, who did not notice, continued. “Sakurai-kun is really shy, it’s so cute,” she giggled. “I don’t know if they’re a couple or not, but I guess opposites attract, huh?”

She looked over and was surprised to see him looking angry.

“What’s wrong?” she said, startled.

“Imayoshi….”


End file.
